January 21, 2021 — A Portland-based fishery group is expressing concerns about the proposed site and size of a salmon farm in waters off Gouldsboro.
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation said the area proposed by American Aquafarms, in Frenchman’s Bay, is heavily fished by lobstermen.
American Aquafarms is an aquaculture startup backed by a Norwegian investor that has under contract the purchase of the 100,000-square-foot Maine Fair Trade Lobster processing facility in Gouldsboro. The company hopes to develop a salmon-farming operation there.
American Aquafarms was launched in Portland last year by Mikael Rones, CEO of Global AS, which is based in Trondheim, Norway. The proposal calls for building a salmon hatchery as well as farming and processing facilities on the site and operate closed deep-water pens for raising fish.